yesterday we as a team went to the waterfall Tanagou to take a day break.

it was nice and not too hot so we could swim all day without getting cooked.

here is a few views.

steps 2 and 3 --cleaning and roasting the peanuts for peanut butter

yeah my corn arrived from the village where i ordered it back in Dec. we have been waiting for it for a long time and wed it finally arrived by taxi. Praise the Lord! and it is still in pretty good shape.. ie the bugs haven't eaten too much of it.

praises to God

A couple of things to praise God for. On Sabbath night we walked home from emile and bros house. On arriving at the house I took my shower and then got ready to go to bed. I went to my sack and found that my phone wasn’t in there. I knew it had fallen out so I quick grabbed my pants and threw them on and asked donny to come with me. We grabbed the flashlight and headed out as fast as possible. It was almost 22h. we sped walked as fast as we could, scanning the road where we had walked just a short 45 min ago. It was dark so that was on our side and I was praying that it would be protected. We got to the turn off about 20 min later. We had a good aerobic workout. On arriving at the saw mill next to emile’s house. I asked a couple of guys if they had seen a phone but they hadn’t so we went just a bit further and donny passed the phone but I saw it in my flashlight beam. And my heart leaped thanks to God for having kept my phone safe. We then slowed down a bit and walked back home.

Sunday morning I hauled out the motorcycle and checked the gas to see how much was in there and it sloshed up like there was enough in there so I took off to go and get many and head out to the villages. We did out meeting in ourabourga and then headed off to pelima. We were zipping along and just before getting to the turn off to pelima the motorcycle started to choke like it wasn’t getting gas. So I reached down (yes while driving over bumpy ground) and flipped the switch to reserve gas. It was still choking so I revved it hard and it came back to life. We arrived without problems but I told Manny we needed to pray to get home because I think that there is only supposed to be 30 km of fuel in there and we had about 40 to go. So I prayed after the meeting and we headed out. I kept a constant speed and didn’t’ really slow down for the speed bumps and on the long downhill I let it coast with the clutch in. we just kept going and I felt in my heart that we would make it. Manny asked me as we came off the dirt road if we will make it and I said yes. We just kept going and we made it to town. I made a beeline to the station where when I was almost in sight of it, I could feel the motor choking some but I just kept going full blast…..especially since I wanted to turn before that big tanker truck arrived that was behind me. And I turned into the station. When he filled it up it was exactly 10ltrs. Meaning it was completely empty. When I tried to start it again it choked along so I push started it. And it took but wanted to die. It probably picked up all the trash that was in the bottom of the gas tank since it was completely empty. Anyway we made it home and I thank God. I think that we had been driving angel fuel from quite a ways back.

shelling peanuts the first step in making peanut butter

Tap tap tap in my house as the kids tap the heads of the peanuts on the concrete floor to crack them open. It is time to make more peanut butter. The old stuff is gone. So there they are cracking them open. They have been working on it for several hours .. well today they did for about an hour at noon and just started up now. But yesterday they did it for several hours. Reminds me of walnut cracking we used to do. For the moment there are 4 persons having a race to see who will finish their pile first.
It looks like donné is winning for the moment. Yep donny won. They are going now for the second round. Severin just left to go and get some cereal out on the street where it is sold. Everyone can eat for 40cents. I just made onion fritters. Very good.

my kids and a big cooking pot

we are in the middle of a big thunder and lightening storm. but since nothing is connected with cords it works well. and probably it works well because no one else is on.

the electricity is cut also so i am again sitting here in the dark by the light of the computer screen with bugs flying around my face and the screen. everyonce in a while a mosquito floats by and i kill it.

did lots of laundry today. it takes me usually about 30 min for each bowl and i usually have 3 bowls. since internet is fast let me put in some pictures.

it sound like this rain is going to be a soaker rain which is good. the fields were getting dry and we needed some rain.

not much happening. our truck is at the mechanic and should be done tomorrow. the motor was over hauled. and got all new gaskets and seals in and the such. and fixing some other things.

and for those who want to know... the rest of the team is doing a supprise party for me.. hehe and i knwo about it. anyway.. before partying i have a bible study to give so when i am finished with that i will go to my party.. the pictures are still uploading. ok they are almost done so i will stop blabbing. i haven't figured out yet how to labble the pictures.

here are a few pictures : one is manny making food with the kids, the kids that are all ligned up are from one father and 3 mothers. they come to our bible study in Ourabourga2, and the 3rd picture is a stack of fire wood along the road.

Here it is Monday evening already. The mosquitoes are chasing my arms around. And probably my feet also. When I finished personal prayer and prayer with the kids I sent them off to school and I ate. Then I went and flicked off the circuit breaker and went and did a bit of electrical work…. Ie.. I had to take a connector. It had melted on the wire and was snapping when we turned on something in the office. So I flicked the circuit breaker over there e so we wouldn’t burn down the house. So I got that off and then was just getting ready to leave and Albertine arrived from the village. She ate and then we left together. She was headed to the hospital to help someone and I wanted to find my electrical piece and check if some money had arrived . The money hadn’t arrived and I stopped at the auto shop but they didn’t’ have what I wanted and told me to go to the Indian store. So I went there and they had the piece but told me I needed to buy 12. I said what am I going to do with 12? So I got the light bulbs which seemed to all decide to not work at the same time and then when I got to the cashier. I asked him if I couldn’t get just one of the doodads. Since I know him.. He has been here from before I got here. And he said no problem and he cut me off 2 and just gave them to me as a gift. Then off to the market with my light bulbs. As I was almost to the market I saw mama augustin ahead suffering along with a sack on her head and carrying 3 25lt empty plastic jugs. So I ran and grabbed the jugs. And she was happy she said she was tired and didn’t’ know how to carry them further. I then went through the market and found a bunch of t-shirts for about 20cents a piece. I then went and visited the lady who sells koudie koudie.. Which is fried peanut pulp… what is left when you take peanut oil out. And told her I want 300 and I would be right back. I went to buy tubani which is steamed bean flour mixed with water. I got 4 for 50 cents and headed back to get my koudie koudie. After getting that I wondered around and found some mangoes that I Iike and filled my bag. About 80cents got me 24 mangoes. That was heavy. But john had told me he was selling hot pepper and I needed some but I couldn’t find him and my sack was way too heavy. So I went were he usually was but didn’t see him so I left and got a motorcycle taxi home. Wrote everything down and took a nap before the kids arrived . Since I had bought the food I didn’t need to cook. Yep my fast food is faster then MacDonald’s and a whole lot better for you and cheaper.
After eating Manny arrived to do editing with me on my document. He is the editor for our cultural scrapbook. By the time we were done the kids were home and they started on homework.
I read and they wrote. And now they are talking outside while I work with Everest doing series.

here are some pictures from the health fair that we did at the church at the end of march.

busy day

May 4, 2009
Today was a busy day . I headed out at 8:30 and went and got diesel for the truck. On finishing I went back to the house to get ropes. Then on to the little clinic to get some antibiotics for papa nestor who has a nasty cough. Then headed to the other end of town and picked up Toussaint. Picked him up and we took off to the village which is like 10km or so.. not far and took the road they had said. We arrived at a church and the road ended. So we spent the next half an hour wondering through the village asking everyone where they lived.. didn’t find them until someone took us to one house and the lady there knew them. Got there and woke the guy up and we went and looked at the grass that we were to haul that had been sewn for the roof and it was covered with some red bugs that look like box elder bugs. Only they are red all over. Anyway nothing eats them. So we banged and banged the grass until most of them left. Then hauled them to the truck. There wasn’t many 7 I think. We then took off but stopped out of the village where they do some ceremonies and Toussaint drove around there for a while practicing. He is doing driving school. On arriving back in town I stopped to get some bags of rice 50kg (110 lbs) and 25kg (55lbs) and a jug 25L of oil and some eggs. Those will last me about 4-5 months. And then took Toussaint home and went home myself. And got everything unloaded before the kids got home.. by like 3 min. the rest arrived and they heated up pate and ate and then donny and crowd left me and severin by ourselves since they had something that needed to do for class. So severin and I took a nap before Colette arrived. She finally arrived with their friend and we chatted and then bony arrived and they left for home. When they left I got online to try and download updates for my old laptop but that didn’t work but did get to chat for a bit. The kids were outside when clement came to get his salary. We worked on that and chatted a bit then he left and I called the kids in to come and get their shower befor the rains came. There was lots of lighting and thunder. They got done and I raced to get mine done before the storm got too close. I took a 1 min rinse because it was rather close and being outside when you are covered in water in a lighting storm is not the best. See below.
There is a storm coming so I am off to take a shower before it gets closer because there is lots of lighting. The storm is here and so is all the lightening. That was a 1 min shower. In the dark because the electricity was cut. Everyone has their flashlight. And we just walk around with it. On Sunday the kids were all doing homework by flashlight on the blackboard. Everything important is unplugged and when the electricity goes out the bugs flock to my computer screens. Which is what they are doing right now.

may 3 09

i am a grandma! little salomon born about 15 days ago. i went there last week when i finally had time and spent 2 days with them.

april 27 09
It is getting ready to rain outside. I was going to go into town to buy soap buuuut I guess not right now. I am taking it sort of easy today since we have been working non stop for the past month. Patient is here to chat with me and get a bit of mommy warmth. Yesterday was a big day at the church as a couple who have been together for over 11 years finally got married. The program started late so manny and I left for pelima to do our bible study before it even started. And by the time we got back it was all finished. Amadine had hidden some Akua for me and I ate that and then I found my self again. I had been quite hungry and driving the motorcycle on gravel for 50 min is stressful. I usually come back brain dead.
Well the rain wasn’t much and the storm grumbled and grumbled.
It is now 7:40 pm and we are sitting around the living room each with his flashlight trying to do homework with the electricity off. Thankfully there are very cheap LED lights here and they don’t use the batteries up fast. I had some batteries that lasted like 3 months and that was even going out to the village with it. They are a life line around here since the electricity isn’t very stable right now. Ok during this time it is back for the moment.
Ok the sleepies have hit hard. night